BLADESTOP BRINGS SAFER SOLUTION FOR BANDSAWS

Meat and food processors can help to minimise the risk of serious operator injury following the announcement that Interfood Butchery Ltd has been appointed as the sole distributor of BladeStop™ in the UK and Ireland.

Anybody involved in the operation of commercial bandsaws is aware of the potential for serious injury. Numerous accidents have occurred over the years, many of which have caused deep wounds that require surgical intervention, with some even resulting in amputation.

This was the driver behind the development of BladeStop, an innovative system specifically designed to address the health and safety issues relating to bandsaws. The system has been designed and manufactured by Australian based company Scott Automation & Robotics in collaboration with Meat & Livestock Australia. BladeStop works by mechanically stopping the bandsaw blade when the unit senses that a person has come into contact with, or is dangerously near to, the blade. The blade stops operating within 15 milliseconds, minimising the severity of an incident – potentially the difference between just a small skin cut and an amputated finger.

Already well established in Australasia, hundreds of systems have been sold worldwide since its launch in 2014. Now, following the appointment of Interfood, BladeStop is available in the UK and Ireland from Interfood’s Butchery Division.

Mark Bishop, Joint MD of Interfood, said – “It was very rewarding that the Australian developers of the BladeStop system approached us when they wanted to maximise its potential in the UK and Ireland. We have developed long standing relationships with many of our customers and pride ourselves on introducing new technologies when we see that it meets a need that is currently not being addressed. BladeStop is the first product we will be offering from our newly created Butchery Division. This brings our total number of Divisions to eight - ranging from Product Development through to Packing Solutions - with each Division

providing the specialist knowledge and experience for the area it represents. We will be applying the same approach to Interfood Butchery as we have to our other divisions, namely prompt service, comprehensive maintenance contracts, further training and bespoke optimisation to ensure that customers get the most from the equipment.”

Richard Nethercot, Interfood’s Product Manager responsible for BladeStop, comments – “We work extensively with many of the major meat and food processors and as soon as we saw BladeStop we recognised the benefits it can offer to many of our customers. By safeguarding workers it shows a company’s commitment to its health and safety responsibilities and, by reducing the risk of serious injury, helps to improve the morale and well-being of employees. There are also, of course, the financial repercussions to consider: BladeStop significantly reduces the potential for compensation payouts and provides the opportunity to lower insurance premiums.”

BladeStop is available in two sensing options, with the Glovecheck system detecting operator gloves moving at high speed in a zone directly upstream from the saw blade. In both options, the blade stops in under 15 milliseconds.